


Damn the Tea

by flummoxed_angel



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Suggested Smut, buffy season 4, depressed giles, jenny is still alive, mention of buffy, mid-life crisis giles, no actual smut but almost hhh, non-canon, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:06:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26540371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flummoxed_angel/pseuds/flummoxed_angel
Summary: Giles pays Jenny a late night visit, and does some much needed talking about his feelings. Jenny acts on her feelings. Oh, and there's tea... damn it.
Relationships: Jenny Calendar/Rupert Giles
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	Damn the Tea

It was late, the moonlight cast itself over Sunnydale, and Jenny was still up grading her students’ papers when she’d much rather be sleeping. The escapades of the night had kept her from getting her work done any earlier than now. It wasn’t anywhere near over, the initiative was planning something, and the scoobies still had no helpful leads on what 314 might be. Most of her time now was spent averting disasters and apocalypses with Giles and the scoobies, and over the past two years her and Giles had become close friends, regardless of their opposing personalities. To think, when they first met they despised each other. Or at least, that’s what they’d wanted to believe. She’d noticed Giles seemed off lately, and she couldn’t help but worry about him, even with everything else going on. She couldn’t get too caught up in worry right now, though. Papers to grade. 

She hummed along to soft music playing in the background to help her focus, when she heard a knock at her apartment door. She paused, there wasn’t a second knock for a while, but she figured she’d check anyway. She hesitated. It could be anything. She’d seen the world of monsters time and time again and she couldn’t be sure it wasn’t something out to get her, especially this late. At least she wouldn’t be surprised, assuming the worst case scenario usually helped in situations like this. She brandished an old baseball bat she kept around, and cautiously made her way to the door. It was too quiet. She inched her way up to the door completely and BANG!! Well, knock. There was another knock and she nearly fell over. If it was a monster, why would it knock twice? Then again, why would it have knocked in the first place? Nevertheless, she held tightly to the bat and pulled the door open swiftly to reveal-

“Rupert!” She hid the bat behind her back, which he’d clearly already seen. “Oh, hah- can’t be too careful! Come in.”

He smiled almost painfully at her and came in. He seemed to stammer with his steps the same as he always did with his speech. Jenny closed the door behind them and turned, setting the bat down against the wall. Giles was standing awkwardly in the front room looking like he hadn’t slept in days. She reached out for his coat,

“I can take that, you just make yourself comfortable and I’ll… do you need anything? water, tea? I have chamomile.”

She always kept tea in the house in case he paid a visit. Now she could finally use it.

“Tea would be lovely, um- chamomile, yes.” He stuttered.

He looked like he had something to tell her, and there was no way it was going to be good news. He still hadn’t sat down and his right hand kept going in and out of his pocket like it couldn't decide where to go. She hung his coat up by the door and made her way to the kitchen for tea. The coat smelled like scotch and old books, a scent she had grown fond of.

“Feel free to sit, you look like you need to, well, you look like you need to sleep, actually.”

She smiled.

He nodded.

“So, chamomile coming up!” She hummed in the kitchen and put the kettle on.

“Uh, sorry to er, barge in… at this ungodly hour.” He apologized, barely loud enough for her to hear from the next room.

Jenny glanced over her shoulder at him. He had taken his glasses off and his head was in his hand. Something was wrong for sure. 

“No worries, I was going to be up all night grading these papers anyway. Now I’ve got company!” She smiled again, and her smile faded when she looked at him once more. 

She entered the living room to wait for the water to boil. 

“Which brings me to the question, what’s up?” 

She found a seat next to him on the couch.

Giles brought his glasses back up to his face and looked at Jenny, she had a sympathetic look across her face. He managed to get something out. 

“I… couldn’t sleep.”

He raised his eyebrows and it looked almost painful.

“Headache?” 

“Yes, splitting.” 

A sort of distressed smile crossed his face for just a moment, and Jenny nearly smiled back. She brought her hand up to his forehead to feel for a temperature, at which point she wasn’t sure if she did it to check, or if she was simply trying to get closer to him. It seemed to take him by surprise for just a moment. He sighed. 

“I’ve got just the thing.”

She quickly removed herself from the sofa and grabbed some pain killers as fast as she could. She returned with the pills and a glass of water for him. 

“Extra strength.” She proudly announced, handing them over.

He grinned and took them, his hand gently brushing against hers in the midst of it. 

“Thank you, Jenny.”

She nodded and took a sofa cushion into her lap. 

“So, does the headache and all the not sleeping have a source that we could tackle tonight?” 

“Well, I can assure you I won’t be needing any tackling.” 

Another smile found itself across his face, and he nearly laughed. She wished he would let himself.

“I’m not sure this can even be tackled.”

He looked so forlorn. She wanted to stroke his cheek and rub his back, to whisper to him and comfort him. She held back, and listened.

“It’s Buffy.” He looked down. “It’s always Buffy.”

She hummed in response and dragged her fingers across the cushion in her lap absent mindedly, eyebrows strained in concern.

“I feel… and this is absolutely ridiculous, but I feel that I’m losing her.”

Jenny continued to drag and circle her fingers along the surface of the cushion, and waited for him to continue. She dare not interrupt in the midst of him opening up. She hoped he felt comfortable. 

“She’s off to college… Not only that, but she’s doing most of her slayer duties without needing help now. I’m no longer her watcher, and I can tell she doesn’t need me anymore. None of them do. I feel she’s relying on me less and less now, and… that’s wonderful. She’s grown up, she’s learned enough from me and she can move on- on her own, and I.. Dear god, this must sound so unbelievably stupid.”

He rubbed his temple and laughed disappointingly at himself.

“No, Rupert.”

Jenny instinctively placed her hand on his, which was resting on his knee. He lifted his face up to look at her and on the way up, glancing at where she’d placed her hand. 

“You’ve watched over Buffy for almost four years now. Before the school was destroyed, you had a system, a routine. Buffy, Willow, Xander, and the library… slaying demons. Things are different now, and that’s always hard. I’ve known you for a little while, and… I know she’s like a daughter to you. I think I know what it is.”

She paused.

“You have dad shock.”

She gently squeezed his hand in reassurance. He had a terribly puzzled look on his face.

“Dad… Shock?”

She held back a smile, she didn’t want to look too amused at his confusion.

“Yeah, it’s when a child is all grown up and it feels like they were just five years old, and you blink and now they’re off on their own. It can sometimes leave a father feeling… Shocked. Dad shock!”

He scoffed as politely as one can and smirked at her answer.

“I’m- I’m hardly a father.”

“Not legally.” She smiled.

He chuckled and looked away once more.

“I suppose you are right, in some way.”

Jenny let the smile remain on her face and subconsciously rubbed gentle circles into the back of his hand.

“I know you’re proud of her for growing up, and you’re happy with who she’s become, so… What’s the punchline? You know, what about all this is really keeping you from getting sleep?” 

She asked this as gently as she could, she didn’t want to pry, but she knew there was more. 

“Well I- I feel lost. To put it simply.”

He stared off at the coffee table in front of the sofa as he spoke.

“Now that she doesn’t need me, well I’m at a complete loss. The past three years, I had a purpose, a- a role to fill. A part to play, and now… Now I’m nothing. Buffy and the rest of them, they hardly come to me anymore. My existence has just become unemployed, sadly playing guitar, and watching quiz shows. I’ve found myself drinking too much, re-reading the same books, my mind keeping me up all night and by morning I have to force myself out of bed. I am utterly useless.”

That last sentence sounded so matter-of-fact, it took Jenny by surprise. Giles was never the self deprecating kind. There was a pause. It almost lasted for too long until Jenny spoke,

“I think you’re wrong.”

He looked at her with a ‘hm?’ and waited for her to continue.

“When I look at you, I see the real Giles.”

His face softened.

“I see brilliant, wise, loving, gentle Giles. Talented, amazing guitar player Giles. Proud father Giles. Wonderful, beautiful Giles.”

At ‘beautiful’, she took his cheek in her hand. It was soft and warm against his skin. His face broke into a smile and his eyebrows upturned. She loved it when he did that. The uncontrollable smiles that forced themselves onto his face in response to compliments. Small giggles escaped his chest, and it looked like he tried to speak his protests and failed to get anything out at all. His cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink and he angled his face down in an attempt to hide, but his uncontrollably wide smile refused to be hidden. Jenny smiled back at him fondly. 

“I mean it.” She stroked his cheek gently. “Beautiful, beautiful Giles.”

She let her hand wander to the hair behind his ear and she toyed with it gently. He softened and leaned ever so slightly into her touch.

“You’ll always be that to me. And those kids, they care about you, I’ve seen it. You’ll always be a father figure to them, and a damn good one. Aside from that, you’ll find your way, Rupert. There’s always more life to live.”

She continued to play with his hair, and gazed absentmindedly at him as she spoke. She continued, almost completely zoned out.

“We… You and I, we could- I don’t know, go out sometimes. I mean, coffee, dinner, anything.”

She suddenly snapped out of her trance, realizing what she’d been doing. She quickly removed her hands from him. He immediately longed for her touch again. 

“Anything to get you away from those quiz shows.”

She chuckled, attempting to save the conversation.

“Those things can be dangerously addictive.” She added.

“Yes, quite.” He replied, smiling once more.

She wished she hadn’t removed her hands. She wished she could run them through that hair of his and feel his gorgeous upturned lips against hers. She needed to stop these thoughts. She couldn’t be too forward. They were friends, that was all. Her usual confident self was stunted by that thought.

“Sorry.” She wasn’t sure why she was apologizing. “I… Hope this helped. Is there anything else bothering you?”

“That’s all, I suppose. It was good to get out, thank you. I should let you uh- get back to your grading, shall I?” 

He looked like he was ready to bolt.

“No!” Too eager. “I mean, no, it’s alright. I can do all that tomorrow. And, tea is still coming. How’s your head?”

“Honestly?”

She nodded.

“God awful.” He let out a laugh at his own statement. “But better. Thanks to the um, extra strength.”

Jenny found herself gazing at him again. It must have been that smile of his, it had to be. Or his undeniable charm, or his adorable stutter, his genuine heart, gorgeous face, the mystery of what lies beneath…

He removed his glasses and began to clean them. They were already spotless, she knew he was doing it to fill the short silence that fell between the two of them.

Before he could bring his glasses back up to his face, she stopped him delicately with her hand. He looked up at her with curiosity, his expression soft and his lips parted ever so slightly. Enough to be agonizingly tantalizing. She let herself fix her eyes on his lips as she brought her free hand back up to play with his hair. She leaned in a little closer and took the hand that rested on his, and slid it up to his wrist, pushing the sleeve of his sweater up slightly. He leaned in as well, seeming a little unsure. Their faces met, and their lips brushed together softly, their breaths alternating. She could feel his quickened pulse through his wrist, and her lips curled up into a smirk. She closed the gap between them a little more eager than she meant to, and he responded quickly. A low hum escaped his throat. She kissed him gently with a slow rhythm, and he returned the kiss beautifully and expertly. Suddenly, he was ahead of her. He’d taken control of the kiss seamlessly, and he was a damn good kisser. She’d never expected him to be this good, but here she was, melting into a puddle at the mercy of his quite frankly fantastic lips. His free hand found itself resting on her back just behind her shoulder with a gentle grip, and Jenny let her hand fall to his neck, then to his chest, where she had to restrain herself from tugging at the collar of his sweater. Suddenly she was thinking too much, she couldn’t let this go any further, what if this made things awkward between them, what if she’d made the wrong call or what if he didn’t want to, what if, what if, what if.

She broke the connection between their lips, and pressed her forehead to his. They took a moment to catch their breath and sat in each others’ embrace, Jenny running her fingers across his chest like she did the sofa cushion before. They sat in silence for a long moment. 

“I- I’m sorry,” Jenny blurted, and leaned away from him. “I don’t know where that came from, I… wow.”

She smiled. She wasn’t sure if it was a nervous smile, or if she was smiling because she couldn’t believe she’d finally mustered up the courage to kiss Rupert.

“No, no. Don’t apologize. It was um… it was very-” He cleared his throat. “It was lovely.”

He smiled, his eyes lazy and gorgeous. He looked completely dazed. He brushed some of her hair behind her ear. That alone was enough for her. In seconds, their lips were intertwined once more. Only now, the kiss was filled with want. It was intense and hot and wild. His hand found the back of her head and tangled in her hair, and she tugged at his collar to bring him closer. She found herself moaning into his lips, and she could feel subtle groans come up from his chest. His sounds only made her want more. In the midst of it all, she reached for his other hand and guided it to her thigh, where he quickly took the hint and firmly gripped her there. A sound escaped her throat and it seemed to drive him wild. He found himself kissing at her neck and the ache between her legs became almost unbearable and-

“What’s that?” 

Everything came to a halt, and through their breathing they could hear a high pitched whistling coming from somewhere in the house. It got louder and louder and more intense. It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen. Jenny returned her eyes to Giles.

“T- Tea’s ready. The… kettle.” The sentence struggled to escape her lips through her heavy breaths.

Rupert let out a slow breath and replied,

“Damn the tea.”

And with that, their lips clashed once again. Their hands wandered about with confidence. As they kissed, Rupert leaned backwards onto the sofa, pulling her on top of him. And in that moment, Jenny thought too,

Damn the tea.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! It was my first time writing anything for either of these characters, but I hope they seemed in character :,)


End file.
